“Helmet off” rule needs a minor tweaking

Posted by Mike Florio on November 29, 2013, 9:08 AM EDT

AP

That memorable goal-line collision late in Thursday night’s game has brought into a focus a safety rule that, in this instance, came into play only after the ball carrier had absorbed a brutal blow to the head.

Steelers rookie running back Le’Veon Bell, who generated 136 total yards from scrimmage on 23 touches, was touched as violently as any football player ever can be as he tried to score the potential game-tying touchdown. Caught in a Malachi Crunch of Ravens, Bell’s helmet came off an instant before he crossed he crossed the plane with the ball for what would have been his second score of the night.

Replay review reversed the call, because Bell’s helmet was off before the ball kissed the front of the white line that borders the end zone.

The rule is as simple as it is unyielding. Rule 7, Section 2, Article 1 states, “An official shall declare the ball dead and the down ended,” followed by 18 specific instances of “when.”

At part (r) — the 18th and final “when” — the rule says “when a runner’s helmet comes completely off.”

A safety provision adopted several year back, it’s as black-and-white as a rule can get. Helmet off? Play over. Period.

It doesn’t matter where the player is. Helmet off receives the same treatment as knee down.

And so it was easy for referee Clete Blakeman (who has had an eventful 10 days) to look at the video and determine that, when Bell’s helmet was “completely off,” the ball wasn’t yet touching the goal line.

But something seems unfair and unnatural about the result. Though not airborne, Bell was lunging forward but not yet down. The rules, however, say he was down because his helmet came off.

Moving forward, this specific situation should prompt the NFL to consider modifying the rule to include the phrase “unless the player is in the process of going to the ground.” Indeed, if a player’s helmet comes off while he is going to the ground, no one is going to stop what they’re doing because a player’s helmet has come off. The action will continue until the guy is down; killing the play does nothing to help protect him at that point.

While the officials got the “helmet off” portion of the play right under the current rules, it appears that Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith may have gotten away with an illegal ramming of the crown of the helmet on Bell. Linebacker Courtney Upshaw also apparently attempted to ram Bell with the crown of Upshaw’s helmet from the other direction, but Upshaw ultimately delivered only a glancing blow.

Lost in the outcome of the play is the fact that it almost didn’t happen at all. With Bell lined up behind quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and anticipating the snap, Bell started to lean forward and nearly lost his balance, which would have drawn an illegal procedure penalty and killed the entire play before it happened.

Based on how Bell and Smith possibly are feeling today, maybe they wouldn’t have minded that alternative outcome.

There is too much subjectivitiy in “in the process of going to the ground.” I have seen too many great running backs LOOK like they are going down, but continued for significant yardage. This issue is corrected merely by strapping your helmet on, better.

I think last night shows that you will have players even MORESO target the head to dislodge the player from their helmet to kill the play. Bell scored an obvious TD that did not count because of the way the rule is worded. What’s to stop defensive players from trying to hit opposing RBs as hard as they can in the head, hoping to remove them from their helmets?

Also, anybody else see the irony that this rule was supposedly put in for player safety purposes to prevent concussions, only to see the potential for defenses to use it to their benefit. This rule MUST be changed.

The Steelers scored anyway so the point is moot. If they want to fix something they can levy heavy discipline on a buffoon of a coach standing on the field during a kick return that ultimately saved his team four points.

If I see a guy lose his helmet, I’m gonna do what I can to not hit him in the head. Again, you’re using a fair bit of license to assume that reasonable men won’t change what they would normally do when a player loses his helmet. Nobody wants to kill anybody out there. Nobody worth a pair of used cleats, anyway.

Solution: If your helmet comes off and your chinstrap is still snapped, guess what? Tighten that chin strap because it’s too loose. The headache it gives you is nothing compared to how some 320 pound fatty will make you feel if he steps on your unprotected head.

The rule, as written, doesn’t keep players from taking shots at a helmetless head. It merely rules them down before their skull gets crushed. Modifying the rule allows the player the benefit of their momentum, and TAKES AWAY an incentive to target the helmet when players battle for inches at the goalline, the line of gain, or the out of bounds line.

I’m all for safety when it comes to head shots especially but I agree with the person above who said that it seems to be a matter of the helmet’s fit. If I remember right, Bell’s helmet popped off with the chin strap still buckled which suggests he was wearing to too loose to begin with.

As a side note, I see that Blakeman’s crew does, in fact, know how to call a PI penalty.

This is one of the worst rules in a league full of terrible rules. If a guy is running around wild without a helmet, fine, blow the play dead. If he loses his helmet as he’s about to cross the goal line, he shouldn’t be punished by taking away a touchdown he earned.

officals sucked again, there were alot of fouls on both teams that wern’t called, especially all the holding that went on all night. Please tell me again how the fulltime refs are better than the replacement refs.

The rules should not be changed. Helmets come off more frequently than they should. That is likely because they aren’t secured properly or they aren’t the right size. If anything, that is what should be fixed/enforced.

The Crusaders were the ones with God on their side against the infidels. You say this is a crusade against the Steelers, but your screen name says the Steelers are God’s team. Either your statement is wrong or your screen name is a lie. 😉

It makes a difference. Anytime players are allowed to advance the ball without a helmet, including on the way to the ground, defenders will try to tackle them to make them come to the ground without going forward at all. The only alternative rule I can think of is that once a players helmet comes off they can be downed by and only by the tag of a hand and there is an automatic replay after any play where the helmet came off to determine when that was. But, its so rare that asking players to switch modes might be impractical. Regardless, there should be an automatic replay whenever the helmet comes off to determine when it came off, because refs arent used to looking for that either.

Leaving the rule alone is a start. That was a brutal hit last night. I’m not a fan of either team, but you couldn’t help but feel bad as 2 players were laying helpless on the field.

If the league is truly concerned with player safety they need to take this one step farther. They need to start mandating that the players wear up-to-date equipment (or at least more up to date than some wear currently). A properly fitting helmet might have prevented it flying off at least.

I think the rule is fine, the problem in this case is he took 2 helmet to helmet hits and there was no penalty. The fact that the play was dead was one of only a few calls the officials got right in this game.

The helmet is suppose to be slipped on and off with ease with the chin strap buckled. Too tight can cause other serious issues. Every team has medical staff that are paid to provide helmets that fit snug for each player.

LOL!! People assume players can pick whatever helmet size they want. The team medical staff is on top of this stuff guys. Hard hits causes the helmet to come off sometimes. Plus remember the NFL changed the rule for leading with the head so by NFL standards Bell is at fault for his concussion.

They should blow any play dead whenever anyones helmet comes off on defense or offense. That would mean every other play in a game that AJ Hawk is playing in would be blown dead. Never seen a guys helmet come off so much.

How much money did Jerome Harrison lose because of hits like the 2nd one that ultimately dislodged Bell’s helmet last night? I remember a very similar play on a running Massaquoi against Cleveland that resulted in a fine.

Just what we need. More exceptions to dumb rules and more refs making judgment calls as to what “going to the ground” means.

The rule should be scrapped anyway. First, it rewards defenders for taking crushing head shots instead of discouraging defenders from helmet contact. Isn’t that the purpose of the new safety rules? Next, what does “completely off” mean? If the helmet is airborne but the end of the chin strap is is still barely in contact with the face, is the helmet completely off? These fly by night rules are asinine and killing the game!

1. Bell was not injured due to helmet coming off, he was hurt due to a text book helmet to helmet hit.

2. Lost in the discussion is that the helmet to helmet hit went inexplicably unpunished by refs.

3. Moot point that Steelers scored anyway? Tell that to the Steelers and the Steelers center who was lost on the very next play. I don’t think they will agree that it was a moot point.

4. Logic seems to be thrown out the window with the current interpretation of this rule. So now every time a player drops the ball after an identical collision with the helmet being knocked off the review will determine that the play is killed before such a fumble? The next time I see that type of officiating decision will be the first time I see such an officiating decision.

What I’m suggesting here is that the players was not any safer because replay rule intervened. When player loses helmet, game should be stopped at first possible LOGICAL opportunity. No one is going to be saved because a replay was able to split hairs. It is absurd that his type of play is even reviewed.

5. Jimmy Smith will be fined. How about the officiating crew that ignored such a violent and imo intentional launching of the defender’s weapon (helmet) into the cranium of an opposing player who was simply trying to dive into the end zone?

Actually, the NFL should just get rid of the rule entirely.
This is another example of over legislation of NFL rules to improve player safety.
Football Helmets, just like Boxing Headgear, don’t reduce concussions – they increase the likelihood of concussions. All the Helmets do is reduce the likelihood of cuts and abrasions.
As cuts and abrasions aren’t the underlying concern, this rule is worse than useless.
What the NFL needs is a safety committee of scientists to examine whether the hamfisted attempts by coaches on the competition committee make any sense at all from a standpoint of reducing brain injury, not any injury at all .

chisox35 says:
Nov 29, 2013 10:17 AM
The helmet is suppose to be slipped on and off with ease with the chin strap buckled. Too tight can cause other serious issues. Every team has medical staff that are paid to provide helmets that fit snug for each player.

ABSOLUTELY an incorrect statement. Why would the helmet even need a chin strap if the helmet is supposed to be able to come off with or without it?

I used to be a youth football coach. The helmet is supposed to be tight enough so that your head moves where the helmet moves. When the helmet is on the correct way, your head will move every where the helmet does.

You want a guy to take a dive at the player’s unprotected head to keep him from crossing the goal? No, leave this rule alone.
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I’m not a fan of either team. The rule is a good one in that it’s intent is to stop play and prevent injury once a player loses his helmet. However, in this case the Steelers lost a touchdown on what was a basically a technicality. The play is supposed to be blown dead as soon as the helmet comes off, but the refs didn’t blow it dead before he crossed the goal line, because of not enough time.

They got the call right according to the rules, but when reviewing the call on replay, it may be helpful to allow discretion on whether or not it affected the play. Bell didn’t get in because the Ravens backed off when he lost his helmet.

Yeah, I just love sitting through another replay looking for something to take a touchdown away. Knee down, elbow down . . . now landing in the end zone without a helmet. I’m with Florio on this one and I despise the Steelers with every grain of my being.

The Steelers scored anyway so the point is moot. If they want to fix something they can levy heavy discipline on a buffoon of a coach standing on the field during a kick return that ultimately saved his team four points.

Whining about the refs after you win is very tacky even for a raven fan…..ssshhh . Some calls are missed against every team every game….winners overcome that….whiners don’t.. If they want to fix something suspend the helmet launching Raven….wawawawawa

Rule should simply provide that play is stopped when refs deem that the helmet has been dislodged. Like so many other situations, it is the whistle that kills the play. Language never would need to change, only the league’s instructions to the refs on how the league wishes the rule to be interpreted–like so many other rules, and as the case in other sports. There is nothing to gain by making this a reviewable play. This situation does not fall in the spirit of why instant replay exists.

Which would likely get a flag for grabbing a helmet opening or facemask …

As its been stated above though…when a guys helmet comes off u don’t want people to lower their shoulders into some guys head all to prevent a TD… last night was probably worry some enough for that young guys family.

Its also something that doesn’t happen too frequently or at least in the games I have watched for the past couple years.

1). Bell was out BEFORE he hit the ground…his arm position shows that. If the ball had come loose, you can’t blame it on him–he’s out cold! That’s why the rule is there!

2). The helmet is NOT supposed to “slip off easily” with the chinstrap attached. The helmet and head are ONE UNIT if fitted properly. The helmet stays buckled and is taped to a backboard if a spinal injury occurs to provide a neutral position of the neck and to STABILIZE the head and neck!

I think the rule is a good rule and it was definitely called correctly last night. However, I also agree that if a player is on his way down already then the play should be able to finish out. If the player can continue gaining yardage then it should stop immediately. In this case Bell was going down whether or not the play was stopped and had no chance of further advancing the ball other than his natural fall. I played against him last night in my fantasy league so I was happy it didn’t count. But in my opinion, the rule does need the tweaking to allow the progress of the natural fall.

How about this? Keep the rule but make the moment the helmet comes/came off non-reviewable. The play is dead when the ref blows the whistle and it is up to them, LIVE, to make that call. That’s one less piece of minutiae the official has to worry about when reviewing a play. Maybe they wouldn’t need as much time under the hood that way. Everybody wins.

The rule was applied correctly. Aside from the obvious safety issues, it’s also incentive for players to secure their helmets PROPERLY. You’re not gonna be able to bring multi-million dollar concussion lawsuits AND think you can wear your helmet with a loose strap with superglued snaps so you can very easily slip it on and off your head. This should be a penalty every time a helmet comes off but the strap stays snapped.

That was a touchdown. And if not a touchdown, then it was first and goal at the six-inch mark because the Raven defender deliberately speared Bell in the helmet with the intent to cause injury. And I don’t care that Bell is a runner rather than a receiver. Trying to decapitate is trying to decapitate. If it were the NCAA, he’d have been ejected.

This rule absolutely should not change. Black and white no subjective ness or difference of ruling between crews.

In addition to ball carrier helmet off rule, The NFL needs to adopt NCAA rule, where helmet comes off, player sits one play unless bought back in by timeout. The number of helmets off in NCAA has reduced the last two years as players have tightened the fit to minimize chance off being sent off.

Player safety rule. Tight fit, chin strapped in, good mouthpiece, ounce of prevention worth pound of cure. NFL needs to follow suit and get these men to wear equipment properly.

The rule HAS to be tweaked. Imagine that was 4th down! A guy scores, but his helmet comes off so they lose the game on it. That would have been preposterous. Blow the whistle, but the ball needs to be spotted where he ultimately lands.

I’m no fan of either team, but I kinda agree with Florio for once. It seemed so unnatural that the play was stopped somewhere in the middle of his lunge forward to the end zone. I think if someone is in the act of going to the ground you have to let that continue until the player touches down. I don’t think the current rule is saving anybody in that split second.

Some of these NFL rules as well as many laws being passed in this country have one thing in common-a complete lack of common sense. Like Florio mentioned, 22 players arent going to stop going full speed simply because the runners helmet comes off. And what if a defender gets tricky and decides to yank a runners helmet off in order to stop a potential TD? Riddle me that, reffie….

How is it possible that this wasn’t a Helmet-to-Helmet penalty? The result should have been 1st & goal rather than 3rd and goal. The Final result would have been the same since we scored & missed the 2 point conversion, but it could have changed the outcome.

I’m wondering if you would feel the same way about this had Bell fumbled the ball before he hit the ground…since it appears he was knocked out by the hit. we could be discussing why a fumble recovery was taken away from the Ravens

That was a touchdown. And if not a touchdown, then it was first and goal at the six-inch mark because the Raven defender deliberately speared Bell in the helmet with the intent to cause injury. And I don’t care that Bell is a runner rather than a receiver. Trying to decapitate is trying to decapitate. If it were the NCAA, he’d have been ejected.
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Total crock, Deb. There was no intent to cause injury and you know that. Bell was leading with the crown of his helmet and was met at different angles by players getting low, and he was doing the same thing.

If you know nothing else about me, you should know I post what the truth as I see it. Smith came in from the side, lowered his helmet and slammed Bell in the helmet deliberately. That’s what I saw. Eyewitnesses are notoriously inaccurate so I’ll leave open the possibility that I saw it wrong. But I wouldn’t have posted it was deliberate if I hadn’t believed it to be true.